PRO/CON VIEW: Should Texas ban straight-ticket voting?

By Enterprise editorial staff

Published 11:55 am, Monday, December 20, 2010

OUR VIEW: Texas should make voters think

State Sen. Jeff Wentworth will once again propose a simple and effective way to help voters know more about the people who represent them. He will ask the next session of the Legislature to ban straight-ticket voting. That's when voters can make only one decision and vote for all Democrats or all Republicans.

Wentworth has called the straight-ticket method exactly what it is - lazy voting. Voters don't proceed down the ballot thoughtfully to compare the candidates for each race. They make one quick decision and then head for the door.

We can do better.

Voters are asked to go to the polls only a few times each year - and sometimes not at all. They can spend a few more minutes making decisions that could have far-reaching implications. They will learn more about the candidates beforehand, if for no other reason than they have to.

More than a dozen states have banned this type of drive-by voting. Texas should be the next.

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ANOTHER VIEW: Let voters make that decision

If Jeff Wentworth wants to plod through a long ballot and stare at names he barely recognizes, he can knock himself out. But he should not deprive other Texans of voting the way they want.

Texans vote straight-ticket for a reason - they like either all Democrats or all Republicans in a given election. They know that they could mix their choices between the two parties - and many of them probably have in previous elections. But if they want to go all-in with one party, no bureaucrat should stand in their way.

Straight-ticket voting also makes practical sense.

If voters aren't familiar with candidates in obscure races, at least they know their party affiliations. That gives them a general sense of what the candidates stand for and how they can be expected to vote when in office.

Citizens need more choices in the voting booth, not fewer. They need more reasons to turn out, not more roadblocks. Our voting system is just fine the way it is.

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FEEDBACK: What do you think? Should Texas ban straight-ticket voting? Post a comment below now!